---
title: "Anand Karaj Highlight Video Editing | WeddingEditor"
url: https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/sikh/anand-karaj/
last_updated: 2026-10-11
---

# An Anand Karaj highlight, made from your gurdwara footage

The Anand Karaj is the Sikh wedding ceremony. It takes place in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib, most often in a gurdwara and commonly in the morning, and its heart is the laavan: four hymns, each read aloud and then sung by the ragis while the couple walks around the Guru Granth Sahib, the bride holding one end of the groom's palla. To get a highlight of it, upload only the Anand Karaj footage as its own WeddingEditor project, name the moments and people in the preference questions, and WeddingEditor's AI editing makes a Highlight Reel of about 5 minutes or a Social Teaser.

Film within the gurdwara's guidance. The edit works with the ceremony you were able to record, guided by the notes you give.

[Start your first wedding](https://app.weddingeditor.ai/sign-up?redirect_url=/dashboard)

## How to get a highlight of the Anand Karaj

1. **Upload the Anand Karaj as its own project** Create a project for the ceremony alone and upload the files you shot in the gurdwara: the couple arriving in the darbar hall, the opening ardas, the palla, the four laavan, the closing prayers and the blessings afterwards. Add the files from every camera, with no renaming or sorting first. Every file must finish uploading, or be deliberately left out, before you check out.
2. **Name the moments and the people** In the preference questions, list the palla and the four laavan as moments that must be included, and name the people the edit should feature: the bride's father or the relative who placed the palla, and, in many families, the brothers or cousins who walk beside the bride during the laavan. Choose how the recorded kirtan and voices should be used, and use the avoid question for anything the family or the gurdwara asked you not to show.
3. **Receive the highlight and send notes** Once the ceremony files are in, buy One Wedding or spend a plan credit and start processing, which typically takes 24 to 72 hours. The edit is delivered to your project, where you watch it and download a 1080p MP4. Up to two revision rounds are included, by email from the link in the app.

## Moments of the Anand Karaj to list

Write these into the question about moments that must be included, in the order they happened.

- **Arrival before the Guru Granth Sahib**: The couple entering the darbar hall, bowing before the Guru Granth Sahib and taking their place in front of it, with the families seated on the floor behind them.
- **The opening ardas**: The couple and their parents standing, hands joined, while the ardas is said to ask for blessings before the ceremony begins.
- **The palla**: The bride's father, or another relative, placing one end of the groom's long scarf in the bride's hand. It lasts only moments and is easy to lose in a long ceremony, so name it.
- **All four laavan**: Each lav read by the granthi, then sung by the ragis while the couple walks around the Guru Granth Sahib. Ask for a moment from each of the four rounds, not only the first, so the highlight shows the ceremony's shape.
- **The hukamnama and karah prashad**: The congregation standing for the final ardas, the hukamnama being read, and karah prashad being served by hand to the sangat.
- **Blessings from the family**: Relatives coming forward to congratulate the couple, in many families with garlands or shagun, before everyone moves to the langar hall.

## What happens at the Anand Karaj, in order

This is the shape the ceremony commonly takes. Practice varies between families and gurdwaras, so check the order with the family and the granthi.

- **1. Gathering in the darbar hall**: Everyone removes their shoes, covers their head and sits on the floor facing the Guru Granth Sahib. In many gurdwaras men and women sit on separate sides of the hall, and the ragis are often singing kirtan as people come in.
- **2. Ardas and the palla**: The couple and their parents stand for an ardas asking for blessings on the marriage, and the granthi or another member of the sangat may speak about the meaning of Sikh marriage. Then the bride's father places one end of the groom's palla in her hand.
- **3. The four laavan**: The granthi reads each of the four laavan from the Guru Granth Sahib, and the ragis then sing it while the couple walks clockwise around the Guru Granth Sahib, the groom usually leading and the bride holding the palla. After each round the couple returns to their place before the next lav begins.
- **4. Anand Sahib, ardas and hukamnama**: After the fourth lav, verses of the Anand Sahib are sung, the congregation stands for a final ardas, and a hukamnama is read from a page of the Guru Granth Sahib. Karah prashad is then served, and the family comes forward with blessings.
- **A highlight, not the whole ceremony**: The full Anand Karaj, with its kirtan and prayers, runs far longer than any highlight. WeddingEditor's AI editing makes a Highlight Reel of about 5 minutes or a Social Teaser from it; if the family wants every lav in full, cut that yourself from your own footage.
- **The sound you recorded**: The kirtan, the ardas and the hukamnama come from your own recording, so how clearly the ragis are heard depends on what your cameras caught. Choosing more speeches and voices in the audio preference lets that real sound lead, with music only in support.

## Parts of the Anand Karaj and what to write in the preferences

| Part of the ceremony | What it looks or sounds like | What to write |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival | The couple bows before the Guru Granth Sahib and sits facing it; the sangat sits on the floor, heads covered | "Bride in a red lehenga, groom in a pink pagg. Feature both mothers, seated in the front row." |
| Opening ardas | Everyone stands, hands joined, while one person leads the prayer; the hall is quiet | "Keep a short, unhurried part of the opening ardas." |
| The palla | The bride's father places one end of the groom's scarf in her hand; brief and close | "Must include the palla. Her father is in a navy pagg." |
| The four laavan | Each lav read by the granthi, then sung by the ragis with harmonium and tabla while the couple walks around | "One moment from each of the four laavan, in order." |
| Anand Sahib and hukamnama | The sangat stands again for the final ardas; the hukamnama is read aloud | "Include the hukamnama being read." |
| Karah prashad and blessings | Prashad served by hand; relatives bless the couple, in many families with garlands or shagun | "Feature both grandmothers giving their blessings." |

## What is the Anand Karaj?

The Anand Karaj, often translated as the blissful union, is the Sikh marriage ceremony. It is performed before the Guru Granth Sahib and centers on the four laavan, the hymns the couple walks to. An Anand Karaj highlight is a short edit that keeps those moments in the order they happened, made from the ceremony footage you upload.

Not the same as: It is not the milni, the meeting of the two families that often comes before it, and not the reception. It also differs from the Hindu pheras: during the laavan the couple walks around the Guru Granth Sahib, not a sacred fire.

## Anand Karaj video questions

### Can I get a highlight of just the Anand Karaj?

Yes. Create a project for the ceremony and upload only its footage. Each project produces one edit, so the Anand Karaj can have its own Highlight Reel while the rest of the wedding goes into a separate project.

### Are we allowed to film the Anand Karaj inside the gurdwara?

Many gurdwaras allow it but set their own rules, such as where camera operators may stand, keeping clear of the area around the Guru Granth Sahib, covering your head and removing your shoes, and sometimes limits on lights, gimbals or drones. Ask the gurdwara committee or the granthi before the day and follow what they say.

### Does WeddingEditor decide what is appropriate to show from the ceremony?

No. WeddingEditor's AI editing works from the footage you upload and the notes you give in the preference questions. It does not decide religious or family protocol, such as what may be shown from the darbar hall. Agree that with the family and the gurdwara, film within it, and use the avoid question for anything that should stay out.

### Will the kirtan be heard in the highlight?

Yes, if your cameras captured it. The edit uses real wedding audio and music together, and for a ceremony like this many videographers choose more speeches and voices so the kirtan and the prayers lead. Say in the audio question how much of them you want to hear.

### Can I ask WeddingEditor to leave certain shots out?

Yes. Use the question about anything to avoid, for example a moment when a guest's head covering slipped, guests on their phones, or a part of the hall the gurdwara asked you not to show. Each answer can be up to 2,000 characters.

### What does an Anand Karaj highlight cost?

One Wedding is $119 one-time for one wedding, and plan subscribers use one credit for the project instead. Processing typically takes 24 to 72 hours, with no guaranteed turnaround.

## More for Sikh weddings

- [Sikh wedding video editing](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/sikh/): The whole Sikh wedding, one project or several
- [Milni highlight](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/sikh/milni/): The two families meeting before the ceremony
- [Sikh wedding reception highlight](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/sikh/reception/): The evening celebration
- [Sehra bandi highlight](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/punjabi/sehra-bandi/): The groom's sehra before the baraat
- [Doli highlight](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/punjabi/doli/): The bride's farewell after the ceremony
- [Sikh wedding highlight](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/sikh/highlight/): A 5-minute highlight of the whole wedding
- [Punjabi wedding video editing](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/punjabi/): Every event from the maiyan to the doli
- [The preference questions](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/features/edit-preferences/): How your answers guide the edit
- [All cultures](https://www.weddingeditor.ai/wedding-video/cultures/)

## Keep the four laavan, in the order they happened

Create your account, upload the Anand Karaj footage as its own project, and list the moments that matter.

[Start your first wedding](https://app.weddingeditor.ai/sign-up?redirect_url=/dashboard)
